BRONCS SET FOR TRIP, HEAD FOR UMKC AND UTSA
Contact: Dave Geringer, UTPA Sports Information Director, (956) 381-2240

EDINBURG, TX-With four games under their belt, The University of Texas-Pan American's men's basketball team will hit the road for the first time this weekend.

The Broncs will visit Missouri-Kansas City Thursday evening and Texas-San Antonio Saturday night. Both games will begin at 7:00 p.m.

Texas-Pan American will take a 2-2 record into the games. The Broncs are coming off Monday night's 90-60 victory against the Southwestern Assemblies of God at the UTPA Fieldhouse. UTPA has scored 90 points in each of their victories, and averaged 67 points per game in each of their defeats. Junior forward Matt Berry (Tulsa, OK/Booker T. Washington HS/Indiana State) leads a balanced scoring attack, averaging 11 points per game. Eight Broncs are averaging 6.3 or more points per game.

"It's good for us to get out and have a chance to play someone on the road," said UTPA Head Coach Bob Hoffman. "It's always tough to win on the road, but we need to find a way to get a few wins."

UMKC, a member of the Mid-Continent Conference, is 1-2 after losing to Loyola of Chicago, 83-75 in overtime Tuesday night. The Kangaroos are led by senior guard Michael Watson, who was fourth in the nation in scoring, averaging 25.5 points per game, and ranked third with 4.1 three-point field goals made per game.

"UMKC is picked to finish in the upper division of the Mid-Continent Conference," said UTPA Head Coach Bob Hoffman. "Michael Watson was one of the top scorers in the nation last year, and he shoots a lot of threes. They shot 35 threes the other night, that's a lot of threes."

UTSA of the Southland Conference is 1-3, winning one of three games at the Top of the World Classic at Alaska-Fairbanks, and falling at home to Illinois-Chicago last Saturday.

"We've competed well against the Southland Conference teams in past years," said Hoffman. "We'll have to go up there and try to find a way to win."

The Broncs will take next week off for final exams, returning to action next weekend when they visit Mississippi Valley State and Sam Houston State.

MBB-15-04120303